Review: Self-Drive Car Rental from Myles, Carzonrent

This is a discussion on Review: Self-Drive Car Rental from Myles, Carzonrent within Street Experiences, part of the Buckle Up category; Originally Posted by chiragpatnaik
In short, if you don't like the limits, be reckless with your own car.
Take it ...

In short, if you don't like the limits, be reckless with your own car.

Take it easy there my friend. Having driven for more than 2.5 decades all over the world, in all types of cars, I have a very good record. So, thank you very much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by chiragpatnaik

The speed limiter function has nothing to do with GPS. It reads the car OBD feed.

So, are you saying they are recording the OBD feed and check it after the car is returned or there is an in-car transmitter to transmit the data back to the office in real time? It is even easier then for the rental car companies to install a speed limiter.

Once I rented a truck for transporting research equipment in the US. The truck had a speed limiter with a preset speed and one couldn't go above it. The accelerator pedal will push your foot back as soon as the speed is reached. Perhaps, Myles (or other rental company) should institute such a control. That will be the most effective way if the companies are worried about speeding instead of beeps. That was my original point in any case.

I instituted the speed limit of 100kmph while I was there. Mainly because we had a lot of reckless drivers and in one case even a death. The car was being driven at 160kmph at peak on the Mum-Pun highway and the driver (The renter's friend) couldn't control it. Not to mention several cases where the car was declared a total loss without injury. In one mildly amusing case, where the Insurance company insisted on fixing the car rather than writing it off.

The condition at Zoom (AFAIK) was even worse. The insurers told us that Zoom was losing 1-2 cars a month on account of reckless high speed driving. Even when they were not losing cars, repair bills were enormous. Zoom at that point was paying the highest insurance premiums in the country (approx 10% per year).

Thanks for the insights! I complete agree with the speed limits .

Indians are just not good with handling someone else's property. I've seen how people drive rentals with absolute abandon, just because it doesn't belong to them. It's a sad, but unfortunate truth.

During my Lodgy's service which takes 2 days, rented a Figo from Zoomcar. The rental fee came to about 3600/- for 2.5 days, max 230 kms, including driver pick up and drop.

The car read about 35000 kms on the odo and it was KA registered. Overall, was impressed with the cleanliness inside the car. They also provide car charger and AUX port cable as convenience features. The drop off driver was right on time, even though it was 7 in the morning.

Before we take the car, we need to download the app on our phone that includes a checklist. Marked all the dents and dings on the car and signed it off. The car's condition was pretty good and I had a good time driving a hatchback after long.

The best bit about Zoomcar is the full tank fuel they provide you. That's a real advantage because I can leave the car with the AC turned on for long intervals at idle times in malls and other spots. If the fuel's over before reaching my actual mileage limit, they reimburse the fuel fee which I thought was pretty cool.

Overall, a very good satisfied experience with Zoomcar. In fact, I have no complaints.

To those promoting a higher speed limit (or indeed none at all), I would suggest casually observing how the average user treats self drive rentals in this country. Suffice to say it's a reflection of how little we value other people's property.

Zoom clearly calls out (and enforces) a 125 limit. It seems Myles does as well. You have a choice to rent from them or not- please exercise it. And drive safe!

Mod Note: any more posts promoting high speed of other unsafe practices will be summarily deleted and members' accounts acted upon.

Hi Noopster,

Are you sure about the speed limit in Myles. I have been renting their cars for quite some time. My first booking was a Swift for chennai - bangalore trip. I was scared about the speed limit while going from chennai hence it took 7-8 hours to reach bangalore however while returning back to chennai i was travelling 110+ most of the time and it took just 4.5 hours to reach chennai.

Thought i'd be fined for over speeding however it wasn't the case. I wasn't fined.

2nd Trip was same swift booked from their Ahmedabad location. Ahmedabad - Vadodara expressway. I wasn't fined for over speeding.

I completely aware of the risks taken in over speeding and i totally against it but my point is that I was not being charged for over speeding. I recently came across a very good post in Google regarding how the companies calculate the over speeding parameter especially in highways.

Having said that, your MOD NOTE takes away the freedom of expression of expressing my views on something I wish to share amongst other members. No one would promote high speeding but they just share their experiences with other members. I'd not afraid to say that your MOD NOTE is more intimidating in nature than advise or suggestion.

Do you have any thoughts on this?

Last edited by udayjani : 25th April 2016 at 08:12.
Reason: Intimidating comment by MOD and no freedom of expression

Are you sure about the speed limit in Myles. I have been renting their cars for quite some time. My first booking was a Swift for chennai - bangalore trip. I was scared about the speed limit while going from chennai hence it took 7-8 hours to reach bangalore however while returning back to chennai i was travelling 110+ most of the time and it took just 4.5 hours to reach chennai.

Actually I have never rented from Myles myself so I don't know the speeding policy first hand. Zoomcar has a policy of fining and even banning users who violate the 125 kmph limit which is clearly stated in their T&C. In any case 125 is illegal anywhere in India so they are within their rights to enforce the policy.

Quote:

I completely aware of the risks taken in over speeding and i totally against it but my point is that I was not being charged for over speeding. I recently came across a very good post in Google regarding how the companies calculate the over speeding parameter especially in highways.

Please share the article here for everyone's benefit. And just because you didn't get caught for speeding doesn't mean there is no policy!

Quote:

Having said that, your MOD NOTE takes away the freedom of expression of expressing my views on something I wish to share amongst other members. No one would promote high speeding but they just share their experiences with other members. I'd not afraid to say that your MOD NOTE is more intimidating in nature than advise or suggestion.

This isn't a freedom of expression issue. We have forum rules that you and every other member agreed to abide by when you signed up. Support team's role is to enforce these rules. If my earlier post seems intimidating that's because it is targeted at those boasting about Achieving dangerously high speeds in rented cars.

Based on a quick perusal of your history, you do not fall into that category so you have nothing to worry about.

Actually I have never rented from Myles myself so I don't know the speeding policy first hand. Zoomcar has a policy of fining and even banning users who violate the 125 kmph limit which is clearly stated in their T&C. In any case 125 is illegal anywhere in India so they are within their rights to enforce the policy.

I dont complete agree with you. Please check the Ahmedabad - Vadodara expressway. This is the only highway i have seen so far with less turns. How would you stop a 3000+ CC car to drive at 120KMPH. It complete defeats of the purpose of buying the car.

Why do car companies sell car with high speed limit in india when there is speed limit of 125 KMPH across all highways in India? Who should be blamed here, the person selling the car, buyer or the government for the lack of infrastructure.

If 125KMPH is hard limit set by government, then I don't require the ABS and EBD features in car. Your argument on speed limit doesn't correlate with the actual ground rules.

Buy a Audi or BMW and ride within 125KMPH sounds totally stupid. :Frustrate

The recently constructed Outer Ring Road in Hyderabad is designed for speeds up to 120 km/h. However few vehicles can reach speeds of well over 160 km/h, making it one of the fastest expressways in Asia.

The best way to implement speed limit would be by the government itself. Recently i went to Tirupati and was totally amused by the speed limit they have while climbing the mountain and coming down.

While climbing up, you have to reach in 28 minutes but not faster than that and climbing down, it's 40 minutes. If government or HAI implement this on expressways then we can easily control the accidents happening due to over speeding.

I read the article and in my opinion it is childishly written. For example:

Quote:

Restricting speed is the easiest thing to do for policy makers. There are a dozen other factors contributing to accidents and no one wants to talk about them or fix them, because solving rest of the issues is not as convenient as restricting speed. No one wants to work on other issues that contribute to accidents- ill trained people getting driving license, roads full of pot holes and unscientific speed breakers, two wheelers riding without safety gear, riding hazardously all over the road, fitness of vehicles on our roads and so on. Working on these aspects take time, effort and money for lawmakers, so instead asking everyone to go slow is an easy option.

My point: it is *precisely* because of these factors (highlighted in bold) that having a sensible speed limit is extremely important. For example, everyone knows that a blanket speed limit of 80 on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway is just silly. Clearly there are stretches where a good driver can safely achieve 120 kmph. But how would you account for people driving the wrong way, cattle crossings, bumps in the road etc. all of which are known to happen? The catch-all solution as implemented by the government is the blanket speed limit. Let's not even get started on how unscientifically the speed limit is imposed- there is one stretch where the limit drops from 80 to 30 with absolutely no warning!
But you (like the author of that piece) have missed the point completely. Rational actor assumption completely fails in a model like Zoomcar. Self-driven rentals is a relatively new business in India and it is going to take time to mature. As chiragpatnaik's post clearly explains, it is in the rental company's best interests to impose a speed limit and clearly communicate this to users, who would otherwise (by and large) not bother about safety because it isn't their own property!

Interestingly, this comment in the article you've quoted:

Quote:

May be it is time I should reduce dependency on car rental companies and think of buying a car for myself in the interest of my freedom.

You have a choice to rent from them or not- please exercise it. And drive safe!

Quote:

Originally Posted by udayjani

I dont complete agree with you. Please check the Ahmedabad - Vadodara expressway. This is the only highway i have seen so far with less turns. How would you stop a 3000+ CC car to drive at 120KMPH. It complete defeats of the purpose of buying the car.

That's a laughable argument. You, as the driver, need to have control over the car, and that includes what speed you take it up to. If you get caught for speeding, are you going to tell the cops, "The car is a 3L V8, so I couldn't stop it from hitting 125"?

Quote:

Why do car companies sell car with high speed limit in india when there is speed limit of 125 KMPH across all highways in India? Who should be blamed here, the person selling the car, buyer or the government for the lack of infrastructure.

Irrelevant argument. You could take the car to a private track where no such limits apply. Are you seriously expecting the government (or car rental companies) to turn a blind eye to general public safety just because a few can afford fast cars?

Quote:

If 125KMPH is hard limit set by government, then I don't require the ABS and EBD features in car. Your argument on speed limit doesn't correlate with the actual ground rules.

Your understanding of a car's safety features is, I'm afraid, seriously flawed. Please spend some time reading up on the multiple threads we have on road safety.

Quote:

Buy a Audi or BMW and ride within 125KMPH sounds totally stupid. :Frustrate

The recently constructed Outer Ring Road in Hyderabad is designed for speeds up to 120 km/h. However few vehicles can reach speeds of well over 160 km/h, making it one of the fastest expressways in Asia.

The best way to implement speed limit would be by the government itself. Recently i went to Tirupati and was totally amused by the speed limit they have while climbing the mountain and coming down.

While climbing up, you have to reach in 28 minutes but not faster than that and climbing down, it's 40 minutes. If government or HAI implement this on expressways then we can easily control the accidents happening due to over speeding.

Does anyone support this?

I don't understand the specific examples you are quoting here and please read my earlier points regarding the Mumbai Pune expressway- we agree on a few broad basics. But like I said before, it's irrelevant. This discussion is about whether car rental companies are justified in imposing a speed limit (100 or 125kmph as may be the case). And from what we've heard, they absolutely are!

I dont complete agree with you. Please check the Ahmedabad - Vadodara expressway. This is the only highway i have seen so far with less turns. How would you stop a 3000+ CC car to drive at 120KMPH. It complete defeats of the purpose of buying the car.

Why do car companies sell car with high speed limit in india when there is speed limit of 125 KMPH across all highways in India? Who should be blamed here, the person selling the car, buyer or the government for the lack of infrastructure.

If 125KMPH is hard limit set by government, then I don't require the ABS and EBD features in car. Your argument on speed limit doesn't correlate with the actual ground rules.

Buy a Audi or BMW and ride within 125KMPH sounds totally stupid. :Frustrate

The recently constructed Outer Ring Road in Hyderabad is designed for speeds up to 120 km/h. However few vehicles can reach speeds of well over 160 km/h, making it one of the fastest expressways in Asia.

The best way to implement speed limit would be by the government itself. Recently i went to Tirupati and was totally amused by the speed limit they have while climbing the mountain and coming down.

While climbing up, you have to reach in 28 minutes but not faster than that and climbing down, it's 40 minutes. If government or HAI implement this on expressways then we can easily control the accidents happening due to over speeding.

Does anyone support this?

1) Switzerland's infrastructure is right up there with the best, and the well-heeled automobile enthusiasts have access to cars such as the Pagani Huayra and the Ferrari LaFerrari - cars that cannot be driven anywhere in India other than on the few racetracks. Yet, the general speed-limit in Switzerland is 80 km/h (120 km/h on motorways and 50 km/h in built-up areas). So buying these million-Euro cars that can do 350 km/h seems redundant I suppose.

2) Airbags can save you while you're doing 30 km/h! Heck, they could save you while you're stationary in your car! You could be waiting at a traffic signal and you could get t-boned and the side / curtain airbags would deploy. ABS can come in handy even at speeds as low as 20 km/h. You don't need to be doing in excess of 120 km/h to require the services of airbags / ABS. There are dime-a-dozen threads on ABS, Airbags, etc and I urge you to read them and broaden your understanding of safety features.

3) Speed limits are there for a reason. Here on Team-BHP, speeding is discouraged and discussing it would attract strict moderation. But we cannot stop you from speeding on public roads.

Why do car companies sell car with high speed limit in india when there is speed limit of 125 KMPH across all highways in India? Who should be blamed here, the person selling the car, buyer or the government for the lack of infrastructure.

An average human male of 6 feet should take approximately 2600 calories per day for being healthy and maintain his weight. Still there are food items sold out there which have higher calories. Should these also be capped to the max calories for the sake of humans or should we leave it on the person to decide his own well being?

Quote:

Originally Posted by udayjani

If 125KMPH is hard limit set by government, then I don't require the ABS and EBD features in car. Your argument on speed limit doesn't correlate with the actual ground rules.

Quote:

Originally Posted by noopster

Your understanding of a car's safety features is, I'm afraid, seriously flawed. Please spend some time reading up on the multiple threads we have on road safety.

Agree with Noopster.

There is a reason why crash tests are carried out at ~60-65 kms/hr speeds for the NCAP ratings. The labs know that at speeds in excess of 100 kms/hr, none of the cars are safe for the occupants.

Seriously, this is common sense. One doesn't need to advertise this. It is for one's own safety, and should be adhered to as such, for our own safety, and not because it has been implemented by Government or by some self drive rental agency.

Quote:

Originally Posted by udayjani

Buy a Audi or BMW and ride within 125KMPH sounds totally stupid. :Frustrate

These are not bought only for their powerful engines. There is a lot more that they offer than the power.
Anyway, a crash at 125 even in these Germans will prove fatal.

I am planning for a trip to Madurai & Rameswaram from Bangalore next month, thinking of renting an Innova/Sedan from Myles/Carzonrent as the total may be around 1800 KM's. Zoom car option may pinch my wallet more considering their cap on KM's.

Guys, Please throw some light on the over speeding penalty by Myles. Honestly it is very tough to maintain speeds within 100 Km mark - especially on NH. What if I cross 110/120 mark here and there?

Please advise as I have never booked a car with Myles in the past. Any other suggestion is welcome.

PS : I will be travelling with my parents & kids. Public transport option is ruled out.

I am planning for a trip to Madurai & Rameswaram from Bangalore next month, thinking of renting an Innova/Sedan from Myles/Carzonrent as the total may be around 1800 KM's. Zoom car option may pinch my wallet more considering their cap on KM's.

Guys, Please throw some light on the over speeding penalty by Myles. Honestly it is very tough to maintain speeds within 100 Km mark - especially on NH. What if I cross 110/120 mark here and there?

Here is my recent (April) experience of hiring a Myles Innova from Bangalore to Andhra Pradesh for 2 days. There were lot of surprises, in spite of the preparations from my side. At the end of the trip, I decided not to hire any car, unless absolutely required.

I had to hire a 7 seater as we were 4 adults + 2 kids and wanted to give personal space to the kids, in case they get cranky. I also had some luggage. Zoomcar doesn't have Innova. Even though XUV was available, it has almost nil luggage space with all 7 seats up. Hence, I had to hire Innova from Myles. I could have gone for the Fortuner, but decided against it due to the bumpy ride (parents were accompanying me) and additional cost.

Surprise during preparation:
The previous day, I called up the Myles delivery location and I had my first surprise there - the Innova they had has only 2 captain seats in the middle row, instead of 3 seats. So, the car is effectively a 6 seater. The Myles Representative (lets refer him as MR) justified that 3 people can sit in the last row, hence it is a 7 seater! Since we were only 6 people, I let it go, even though I had to compromise on some luggage space. I asked the MR if everything else is fine with the vehicle, he says, it is all good and ready. It also had a roof mounted TV, which I thought will keep the kids occupied (more on this coming up).

Surprise during pickup:
Next day, I went to the Myles location in Hennur road (Bangalore). It is a mud and rock patch, part of some godown. It is not covered, hence all the vehicles were dusty. The car had been washed when I went there, but still there were mud patches on the window glasses. I ignore these and switch on the ignition, it had 1.05 lakh kms on the odo. Given Innova's reliability, this didn't bother me. Instead, the surprise was that the fuel tank was empty.

The MR arrogantly said, the previous customer returned with empty and he couldn't fill the tank (in spite of many fuel stations close by) since he had to go to their head office (15 kms away) to get approval for filling fuel (what a ridiculous policy). He coolly said my only choice was to take the vehicle as-is, fill fuel and return with empty tank. I got very upset at this and called up the Myles customer care (MCC), there was a 10 minutes hold and I was trying to escape from the mosquito bites in that dingy place. The MCC hear me out, asked me to give the phone to the delivery guy, they spoke to him for few minutes and they ended the call without telling me what the next steps are . There was no call back from MCC. I got very impatient and frustrated at this. Since I had to leave for the trip, I took the vehicle and left. The empty fuel tank and all the dents and scratches were noted down in the trip sheet.

Does Myles reimburse road tax for Andhra?
Back at home, since I had to take my vehicle to Andhra for 2 days, I checked the vehicle documents to see if it had any valid Andhra permit. Didn't find any. I called up the MCC to check if they would reimburse full/part of the permit fees, since it costs Rs. 2600+ and valid for one year. The MCC didn't agree to reimburse any portion of the permit fees. (On the contrary, Zoom car reimburses full permit fees for Andhra). The Myles policy also stated the same. I fail to understand what stops them from reimbursing this fees? This is utterly unfriendly to the customers. So, my car rental expenses just went up by 40%. At the Andhra RTO checkpost, the RTO Inspector himself was sitting at the counter. I requested him to check in their database to see if the car already had any valid permit. There was none. I paid up fees for the next one year and continued my journey.

Surprise during the trip:
It was around 7:30 PM and the kids were enjoying the movies in the TV. While driving through a bad patch of road, the roof mounted TV just came off suddenly and fell on my wife's head. It took me few seconds to realize what happened and I stopped the car in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, the TV was hanging with the wires, so there was no injury to my wife's head. The TV was fitted to the roof with just 2 screws and they came off quickly in the bad patch. I decided to drive and reach the destination (20 kms away), but then, the TV had to be held up and I quickly realized it's going to be really painful holding the TV up, it was heavy too. I drove for few kms and luckily there were some grocery shops in a nearby town and bought some plastic ropes. I spent the next 30 mins fastening the TV to the sun shade/roof handle. It was painful to do this in the limited space, with limited lighting, and mosquitoes for company.

Finally, the ropes were able to hold the weight of the TV. But the kids couldn't watch it any more, luckily they were mature enough to accept the situation and didn't get cranky.

Throughout the trip, I had to keep track of the car's mileage, so the exact fuel required to complete the trip can be calculated, in order to return the car with empty tank. This is another overhead and kept me preoccupied during the last leg of the trip as I had to refuel for 10 ltrs and finally 3 ltrs.

Surprise during the drop:
I went to the Myles location at 7:30 PM, and I found no one. I called up the MR and he says he is not around and asked me to leave the keys with the watchman of the nearby godown, who is no way related to Myles, but he was employed by the nearby establishment. There was no watchman to be seen and I ask the MR to come there immediately. He declined that he cannot come for another hour and asked me to find the watchman. I had to go to the nearby godown and yell the watchman's name a few times, some stray dogs started barking back. After a while, a shady figure walks down a bus parked inside the godown. He murmured some curses for the MR and ranted how the MR always asks him to collect the keys.

Before giving the keys, I took all the pictures of the Odo, the fastened TV, documents kept inside the car and multiple angles of the car. Left the keys with the watchman and leave.

A week later, I got my 5K security deposit back.

Regarding the speed limit - the MR wrote 100 kmph on the trip sheet and asked me to sign. The Innova's engine gets noisy at high rpms and 100 kmph comes above 2500 rpm, this didn't let me cruise beyond 105-110. So, I mostly drove around 100-105, touched 120 twice. There were no questions asked from Myles. In the past also, I had hired a Fortuner and cruised around 100-110, no issues. I think that the 100 kmph speed limit is a deterrent to those who drive rashly. And, in the event of any untoward incident, the speeds recorded will be used against the customer.

I have booked Myles Car for the first time. Infact, renting a self drive for the first time. Is it required to upload all the relevant documents in the myles site or do I need to just carry it with while picking up the vehicle? Any xerox copies to be submitted while pickup?

I was recently planning a drive trip from Bangalore to Mysore for which I've been reviewing zoom and myles.

I see two distinct advantages of zoom car. So much so that these two points alone are deal breakers for me to choose Myles and I would rather choose zoom car instead.

1. Zoom car caps your liability at 5000 rupees. I think a known capped liability is very important. Myles in comparison is vague and simply puts the uninsured liability on you.

2. Zoom has a speed limit of 120 kmph. Myles has a speed limit of 100 kmph. I am not opposed to a speed limit and understand the logic. But for someone looking to do Bangalore Mysore and back, I feel a 120 kmph limit is much better to work with than 100.

The only attractive aspect of myles was the better range of cars they were providing, including two in particular that I liked, Creta AT and Baleno. Their range of lower AT cars is also wider with i10, Jazz included as well while the only non luxury AT I saw on zoom cars was ciaz.

Suprisingly, zoom offers Fortuner but not Innova at Bangalore. I found that pretty surprising too.